Chair consisting of parts adapted for quick assembly and disassembly

ABSTRACT

A chair consisting of only two relatively thin flat parts, which can be quickly and easily assembled without the use of tools or fastening elements, or drilling of holes in the sides of the parts. Means are provided for assembly of the parts without tilting or rocking of the parts relatively to each and enabling the parts to be automatically and properly positioned in relation to each other. The parts are of uniform thicknesses wherein said parts are superimposed for packing and shipping in a relatively flat container.

United States Patent [191 Yarus 1 Aug. 14, 1973 CHAIR CONSISTING 0FPARTS ADAPTED FOR QUICK ASSEMBLY AND DISASSEMBLY [76] Inventor: MarilynS. Yarus, 17600 S. Park Blvd., Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120 [22] Filed:May 20, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 145,230

52 us. c1. 297/440, 297/56 51 1m. (:1. A411: 7 7 00 58 Field 61 Search108/156-158; 297/l8.l9, 20, 415; 182/151; 152/661, 667, 666,665, 56

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,427,074 2/1969 Whytem,297/443 2,701,009

2/1955 Richard 108/156 X 1,223,576 4/1917 Gartrell 297/217 2,914,11711/1959 Underwood 297/18 X 3,301,596 1/1967 Eos 1 297/30 X 1,949,9513/1934 Bozarth 297/56 Primary Examiner-Jan] R. Gilliam Attorney-Islet &Ornstein 1 ABSTRACT A chair consisting of only two relatively thin flatparts, which can be quickly and easily assembled without the use oftools or fastening elements, or drilling of holes in the sides of theparts. Means are provided for assembly of the parts without tilting orrocking of the parts relatively to each and enabling the parts to beautomatically and properly positioned in relation to each other. Theparts are of uniform thicknesses wherein said parts are superimposed forpacking and shipping in a relatively flat container.

1 Claim, 8 Drawing Figures mmnanmmms 3.752.532

SHEEI 1 OF 2 JIO Fig.2 Fig.3

INVENTOR. MARI LYN YARUS fir 4; 6

ATTORNEYS INVENTOR. MARILYN YARUS ATTORNEYS CHAIR CONSISTING OF PARTSADAPTED FOR QUICK ASSEMBLY AND DISASSEMBLY In Whyte U.S. Pat. No.3,427,074, a chair is disclosed for rapid erection and dismantlingcomprising two iongitudinally rigid parts, one of which has a transverseopening intermediate its ends through which opening the other of saidparts is slidably insertable whereby a rigid cruciform structure isformed supportable on a flat surface by two adjacent ends of said partsand the portions of said parts adjacent the other two ends provide seatand backrest areas for supporting the body of a person in seatedposition on said structure.

The parts are similarly shaped and may be made of solid buoyant materialor of hollow box-like construction, capable of floating in water.

In order to prevent unwanted movement between the two parts whenassembled or erected, and thereby facilitate movement of the chair as awhole from one place to another, locating pins 16 are arranged to beinsertable through holes in the longitudinal sides of the chair part sothat the inner ends of such pins 16 engage in recesses in recessedfittings 22 which are pro vided in the longitudinal sides of the chairpart 14. Such pins, holes and fittings are provided at each side of thechair, and, moreover, chains 26 are provided or securing the pins 16against loss.

In the chair, as thus described, the two longitudinally rigid parts areof a hollow composite construction, requiring the components of theseparts to be glued or otherwise connected together to form the composite,thereby involving considerable cost in assembling the components.

Moreover, the two longitudinally rigid parts are of a thickness andcontour or conformation such as to occupy considerable space when one ofthe parts is superimposed or laid upon the other part, thereby requiringthe use of a relatively large container or carton for the parts andentailing high shipping costs.

Furthermore, the pins 16, fittings 22, screws, and chains 26, addgreatly to the cost of the chair, due not only to the intrinsic cost ofthese elements, but also to the time required to drill holes in theparts and secure these elements to the parts.

It may also be mentioned in this connection, that in assembling theparts, it is necessary to align the holes in one of the parts with therecesses in the fittings, and to then insert the pins in position, allof which is time consuming.

It may further be mentioned that if the pins are not of relatively largediameter, shearing stresses could be imposed on the pins by a personseated on the chair, causing possible rupture of the pins or breakage ofparts.

The present invention has, as its primary object, the provision of achair of the above-described character, but which overcomes all of thedisadvantages of the chair of the aforesaid patent, to which referencehas been made.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chair of the characterdescribed, consisting of only two relatively thin parts, which can bequickly and easily assem bled, without the use of tools, pins, fittings,screws, chains, or other fastening elements, and without requiring thedrilling of holes in the sides of the parts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chair of the characterdescribed, consisting of only two parts, and in which the parts havecoacting means which enable one of the parts to be automatically andproperly positioned in relation to the other part by the mere act ofinserting one of the parts into the other.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a chair of thecharacter described, consisting of only two flat parts which are of suchthickness that when one of the parts is laid or superimposed upon theother part, the overall thickness is such that the parts can be packedand shipped in a relatively flat container or carton, to thereby reducestorage and shipping costs.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during thecourse of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, andin which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the chair, in assembled or erectedcondition;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the chair, as viewed from theright side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the chair, as viewed from the leftside of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the chair, as viewed from thebottom of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross'sectional view of the chair, taken on theline 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on the line 6-6 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of that part of the chair which provides the seatand the rear leg of the chair, and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of that part of the chair which provides the backor backrest and front leg of the chair.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the chair will be seen tocomprise two parts, generally designated by reference numerals l0 and 11respectively, and of the contour best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The part 10 is designed to provide the back or backrest and front leg ofthe chair, while the part 11 is designed to provide the seat and rearleg of the chair.

The parts 10 and 11 are preferably made of an inexpensive material,such, for example, as plywood, of a thickness of 1 inch or three-fourthsinch, it being noted, at this point, that the parts are of uniformthickness throughout their expanse or area, so that when one of theparts is laid or superimposed upon the other part, the overall thicknessof the parts is either 2 inches or 1% inches, depending upon thethickness of plywood employed, so that the parts can be packed andshipped in a relatively flat container or carton of minimum depth, andat minimum expense. This thinness of the parts is also of advantage instoring the parts, and in transporting the parts manually from one placeto another.

The part 10 is provided intermediate its ends with a transverselyextending slot or opening 12 having parallel upper and lower edges 13and 14 respectively, which are disposed in planes inclined approximatelyto the plane of the rear surface of the part 10, this angle ofinclination serving a purpose to be presently described. The slot oropening 12, moreover, serves to divide the part 10 into two areas, oneof which, designated by reference numeral 15, provides the front leg ofthe chair, when the parts 10 and 11 are assembled, and the other ofwhich, designated by reference numeral 16, provides the back or backrestof the chair.

The part 11 is provided with -a rearwardly extending tongue 17 of areduced width slightly less than the length of the slot 12, and which,when the parts 10 and l 1 are assembled, provides the rear leg of thechair, the portion of the part 11 forwardly of this tongue providing theseat 18 of the chair.

The junction of the tongue 17 of the part 11 with the seat 18 providesshoulders or stops l9 and 20 which are in planes inclined approximately75 to the plane of the bottom surface of the part 11, and which serve apurpose to be presently described.

In assembling the parts 10 and 11 to form the chair, as best seen inFIGS. 4, and 6, the part is supported by one hand on a horizontalsupporting surface S (FIG. 4), in the inclined position shown in FIG. 4,and the tongue 17 of the part 11 is passed into and through the slot oropening 12, by means of the other hand, until the shoulders 19 and comeinto abutment with the front surface of the part 10, at which time, thepart 11 will assume the position on the surface S shown in FIG. 4.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the thickness of the part 11 is substantiallythe same as the distance between the upper and lower edges 13 and 14 ofthe slot or opening 12, so that these edges 13 and 14 serve to guidemovement of the tongue 17 through the slot 12 at the proper angle to thepart 10. This insures against any tilting or rocking movement of theparts 10 and 11 relatively to each other during such movement.

At the termination of this movement, the inclined shoulders 19 and 20 ofthe part 11 will lie flat against the front surface of the part 10, asseen in FIGS. 4 and 6, thus providing additional insurance against anytilting or rocking movement of the parts 10 and 11 relatively to eachother after assembly.

The inclined edges 13 and 14, and shoulders 19 and 20, provide means fornot only facilitating assembly of the parts, but also enables the partsto be automatically and properly positioned in relation to each other bythe mere act of inserting one of the parts into the other. Thisassembly, moreover, is accomplished without the use of tools, pins,fittings, screws, chains or other fastening elements, and withoutrequiring drilling of holes in the sides of the parts.

The disassembly or separation of the parts is accomplished in an obviousquick and easy manner.

The chair, as thus constructed and assembled, is extremely rugged anddurable, and can be manufactured at low cost and sold at a reasonablylow price. The ruggedness or strength of the chair has been determinedby load tests conducted by well-known testing laboratones.

The results of these tests appear in the following table:

Location of Applied Thickness of Maximum Load Load Chair Parts (Lb.)

At junction of seat and backrest l" 500 At front edge of seat 1" 325 56"200 At top edge of backrest 1" 130 All loads were applied perpendicularto the surface supporting the chair.

" Loading was tenninated in each instance at the point of audiblecracking of the plywood.

Although the chair has been described particularly with reference to itsconstruction from plywood parts, it is to be understood that otherrelatively lightweight material may be used for such parts, such, forexample, as plastics.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown anddescribed, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of partsthereof, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scopeof the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention: I claim:

1. In a knockdown chair assembly consisting of a pair of interengageableback and seat elements each constituting a support for the other andcollectively defining a seat structure, the combination comprising, aback element including a one-piece substantially rectangular bodyportion of uniform thickness throughout with planar major faces, meansdefining a transverse elongated opening extending through said backelement between said major faces having angularly inclined parallel wallportions lying in a plane inclined at an angle of less than to the rearsurface of said back element and dimensioned to provide substantialmarginal portions between the end extremities of said opening and theedges of said back element, said back element further including anextremity terminating in a continuous surface engaging edge portion, aseat element including a onepiece body portion of uniform thicknessthroughout, said seat element including a seat portion and a tongueportion, said seat portion having a width substantially the same as thewidth of said back portion, said tongue portion configured to extendthrough said opening in said back element and including angularlyinclined shoulder means in substantial full face engagement with each ofsaid marginal portions of said back element to limit insertion of saidtongue into said opening, said tongue further including an extensionportion defining a rear surface engaging support leg.

1. In a knockdown chair assembly consisting of a pair of interengageableback and seat elements each constituting a support for the other andcollectively defining a seat structure, the combination comprising, aback element including a one-piece substantially rectangular bodyportion of uniform thickness throughout with planar major faces, meansdefining a transverse elongated opening extending through said backelement between said major faces having angularly inclined parallel wallportions lying in a plane inclined at an angle of less than 90* to therear surface of said back element and dimensioned to provide substantialmarginal portions between the end extremities of said opening and theedges of said back element, said back element further including anextremity terminating in a continuous surface engaging edge portion, aseat element including a onepiece body portion of uniform thicknessthroughout, said seat element including a seat portion and a tongueportion, said seat portion having a width substantially the same as thewidth of said back portion, said tongue portion configured to extendthrough said opening in said back element and including angularlyinclined shoulder means in substantial full face engagement with each ofsaid marginal portions of said back element to limit insertion of saidtongue into said opening, said tongue further including an extensionportion defining a rear surface engaging support leg.